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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Carbon in its various forms, specifically nanocrystalline diamond, maybecome a key material for the manufacturing of micro- andnano-electromechanical (M/NEMS) devices in the 21st Century. In order toutilize effectively these materials for M/NEMS applications, understandingof their microscopic structure and physical (mechanical properties, inparticular) become indispensable. The micro- and nanocrystalline diamondfilms were grown using hot-filament and microwave chemical vapor depositiontechniques involving novel CH4 / [TMB for boron doping and H2S for sulfurincorporation] in high hydrogen dilution chemistry. To investigate residualstress distribution and intermolecular forces at nanoscale, the films werecharacterized using Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy in termsof topography, force curves and force volume imaging. Traditional forcecurve measures the force felt by the tip as it approaches and retracts froma point on the sample surface, while force volume is an array of forcecurves over an extended range of sample area. Moreover, detailed microscalestructural studies are able to demonstrate that the carbon bondingconfiguration (sp2 versus sp3 hybridization) and surface chemicaltermination in both the un-doped and doped diamond have a strong effect onnanoscale intermolecular forces. The preliminary information in the forcevolume measurement was decoupled from topographic data to offer new insightsinto the materials's